The Heart of the Matter
by Fawkes Devaue
Summary: Booth & Brennen must face the consequences of THAT night: Bones' confession of her feelings for Booth. They must also solve a murder that will lead them through one of history's oldest & darkest love stories while also discovering new truths about themselves, about each other, & the possibility of more with each other. [Sweets is a major-minor character].
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This particular story will not be very long, perhaps only a few chapters, but I hope you all enjoy this no matter how short it may turn out being. As always, the traditional disclaimer – I do NOT own "Bones" or its characters, everything else in this story is however mine. This story is sort of a big exploration on Bones relationship with Booth and how he treats her in the end of season 5 as well as throughout season 6. Don't get me wrong, I am a huge B&amp;B fan and I love them together (their one of the best, genuinely romantic couples on TV since Scully and Mulder from "The X-Files") however, I think many other B&amp;B fans will agree with me when I say that Booth's relationship with Hannah was not exactly his brightest moment (I feel like he spent a lot of time flaunting his relationship in Bones' face which was really childish and petty of him). With that said this is NOT a Booth bashing story. I honestly don't think I bash anyone – no, not even Hannah – in this story. It's basically a lot of people's POVs on what the heck went on during that one dreaded season.**

**Readers should know that I am a huge Dr. Sweets fan and as such he gets a lot more attention in this story, but mostly just as a friend and an outside observer.**

**NOTE: This first chapter starts immediately after "The Parts of the Sum in the Whole" (5x16) after Booth finally speaks his feelings and Bones basically runs away from her own feelings, it then jumps immediately forward to "The Doctor in the Photo" (6x09).**

**Chapter One) Part I: Abandoned**

_**April 8th 2010 "The Parts of the Sum in the Whole"**_

Brennan was on fire, or better yet her chest was on fire. Is this what it felt like to be in love? Was this what Booth and Angela had been repeatedly telling her about human emotions for so many years? Not just one hour ago Booth had admitted the feelings that Cam an Angela had often voiced to her, but now she had firsthand knowledge from the actual source of those emotions, Booth. And the sad truth was that she did love him back, more than anything and more than anyone. She'd give anything to be with him, but the completely heartbreaking truth of the matter was that she wasn't what Booth needed; she didn't even think that she was what Booth really wanted, not really. He wanted a woman who could love him and devote her complete heart to him, to get married and have kids. Brennan wasn't entirely certain she would be a good mother – lord knows with the amount of people who had voiced their shock at the very thought of her being a mother the year before when she'd asked for Booth's sperm was proof enough of what they thought of her regarding her and the idea of motherhood – she didn't exactly believe in marriage – after all the divorce rate in America alone was proof that marriage was not a guarantee to happiness – and as for having a full and loving heart…Brennan was not entirely certain she even knew how to love, she'd gone so long without it. Her parents had left her – even if their intentions had been to protect her and her brother, Russ – and even Russ had left her in the end, too – and had moved on with a family of his own – and she didn't even want to look back on the countless foster parents that had abandoned her or simply deemed her as a loss cause as a child. Suffice it to say, everyone left her.

Over time she'd gotten used to it and she had adapted to a life of loneliness, until she'd met Angela. Her longtime friend had been the breaking point in her self-imposed isolation from human companionship. Once Brennan had befriended Angela – whom she now looked upon as a sister – Brennan had lost any hope of ever being alone again. And then along came Booth, a man whom excited her just as much as he infuriated her, who challenged her and respected her all at the same time, a man who had opened her up and put a little more of the humanity back inside her that she'd had originally thought she'd lost back in her tormented and tearful childhood. So, when Booth voiced his emotions that night, his feelings of love and thoughts of a truly happy and fulfilling future, Brennan retreated back into her shell.

She was afraid. She knew Booth loved her, but for how long? Was it fleeting? Would he leave her, too? Everyone else had at one point or another. She had lived the better part of her life dealing with the people closest to her walking out of her life whenever they pleased. And that's not to say whether the relationship would work out or not. If they did fail as a couple would they still be able to be friends? Brennan doubted it. Either way it would end badly and with her hurting more than she had ever thought to be possible. It would have been worse, but at least this way she still had Booth in her life, in her confidence, and as her friend. As long as Booth was in her life, Brennan would be happy. Wouldn't she?

_I believe this is worth taking a chance on…we are worth taking a chance…_

But, Brennan didn't want a chance, she wanted a guarantee. She wanted to know for a fact that Booth would love her forever, that would stay with her forever, so no…she couldn't take that chance of losing him.

**Chapter One) Part II: Something Unprecedented**

**December 9****th**** 2010 "The Doctor in the Photo"**

Brennan felt as if she were burning up. Hot tears rolled silently down her cheeks as they had been for the last five hours, though her body no long raked with heart-gut-wrenching sobs. She had been able to hold off the worst of the emotions and heartbreak until Booth had dropped her off on the side of the street just outside her apartment building. She hadn't allowed herself to truly let herself feel the heart break until she was safe inside her home and sitting up against the door to her apartment that she really let herself go.

She was in hell…and she didn't even believe in hell…or heaven. But if by chance there was hell, she surmised that it would feel like this, as if her heart was being slowly gripped and molested by a cruel fist that constantly enclosed around it in perfect time and rhythm to her gasping breaths.

She had not had the strength to call into work so she had texted Angela, begging her to call in for her as she was too sick and tired to do it herself. Being the understanding friend that she was, Angela had immediately agreed while also asking if she wanted her to come over and take care of her. For the first time in hours Brennan had smiled – no matter how sad it had been – at her friend's loving concern. She remember the last time she'd gotten the flu and how Angela had immediately come over to check on her throughout the day during her breaks to check on her and bring her soup and hold her hair as she'd puked her guts out (despite that being humanly impossible) in her bathroom toilet. But, given that Brennan was not exactly sick – though if Angela knew that she was at present nursing a broken heart she would consider that to be the worst and most painful sickness a person could suffer through and she certainly would not have allowed her to suffer through it alone – she didn't think it would be fair to ask Angela to care for her regarding something that Brennan didn't think anything or anyone would be able to cure her of.

Brennan only had herself to blame for her misery. She knew Booth was with Hannah – lord knows she'd witnessed their 'togetherness' enough times in the last three months or so since their return as a team – and she knew he loved Hannah, but she couldn't live through another day without telling him that she loved him that she had wanted him…for years. Perhaps it was the complete and utter loneliness over the years and the sudden jolt that this particular case had given her that had possessed her to finally admit it to herself and to him out loud what she felt, but in the end Booth had withdrawn from her in a way that even her rejection the year before had not caused. It was as if she had overstepped some unknown invisible line in their relationship and now everything was about to change.

The beep from her phone caused her to jump out of her mental berating and back to the present as she looked to see who was texting her when she was certain that everyone at the Lab had the impression that she was home sick and resting. It was from Angela: 'Hi, honey. Are you feeling better? I'm about to go to lunch with Hodgins. We can bring you some soup and crackers from the Diner if you want?'

Brennan smiled sadly again as she thought of Angela and her unfailing loyalty. 'No thank you. I'm feeling better and I think I'm going to try and get some sleep. I'll see you Monday.' Brennan typed in her reply, not bothering to see if Angela would text back. She was just grateful that it was now Friday and she'd have the rest of the weekend to make herself presentable for work as well as to rebuild her walls. She didn't want her emotions to make things worse between her and Booth and as such she knew she'd need to once again get them under control before she saw him again. That is if he was still willing to work with her after what happened the night before.

That possibility – the possibility that her confession had pushed Booth so far over the edge within their relationship that he could end their professional partnership – was a startling and frightening concept. Perhaps she should reassure Booth by letting him know that she would not try to come between him and his relationship with Hannah, not that that had been her intentions to begin with…she had simply wanted to be honest about how she felt about him just as he had been honest about his feelings for her – the feelings he clearly no longer had – a year ago. Although, Brennan wasn't entirely certain how she'd prove that to Booth. Perhaps she should call Sweets and ask him to write up an analysis of her to ensure Booth that her professional and emotional feelings would not compromise their working environment? She may not hold any stock in psychology but she still respected Dr. Sweets as an expert of his profession as well as one of her very few closest friends. However, she didn't think she'd be able to walk into the FBI building with the constant fear of possibly being seen by Booth or running into Booth, especially so soon after her confession. She could always ask Sweets to come see her at her apartment. Did Sweets do house calls? Well, there was only one way to find out, and with that thought Brennan uncurled herself from her position on the floor in front of her front door, her body so stiff from being in the same position since 3:00am that morning that the cracking of muscle and tendons was almost deafening in the silence of her apartment, and went to sit on her couch as she called Sweets cell phone.

Dr. Lance Sweets was not dumb nor was he clueless when it came to those closest to him – I mean he was one of the youngest psychologists in the world – and he found it odd that Booth honestly didn't think he'd notice his lack of enthusiasm of being a big-tough-FBI agent that day. Booth was always a go-get-'em kind of guy both professionally and personally and as such he was also very proud of serving his country, whether it be as his time as a soldier or with his work as an FBI agent. So, when their present suspect for the case they had been working on that day made a slight jab about law enforcement almost always being corrupt, Sweets was more than a little surprised to not see any reaction from Agent Booth. It was rare for Booth to not defend his position, however when he'd learned that Dr. Brennan had called in sick – or really Angela had called in for her – that morning, he simply passed Booth's irritable and gruff and overly silent behavior as his worry for his partner, as well as a way to cope with her present absence. But when Sweets received a truly questionable call from Dr. Brennan wanting him to make a psychological house call on her behalf (and not sounding the least bit sick, in his professional opinion), he had a feeling things were more than just a little off between Dr. Brennan and Agent Booth. His suspicions were further proven when he'd asked Dr. Brennan about not knowing that he'd had a 'couples' counseling meeting between her and Agent Booth, only to have Dr. Brennan clarify most passionately and loudly that it was strictly a patient/doctor meeting between just the two of them.

Now, Sweets was not fool enough to think that, given Dr. Brennan very obvious and vocal dislike of his profession of psychology, she was asking him over for actual psychological input. If anything she'd be talking to him about…well, he wasn't really sure. Thus that is how Dr. Sweets found himself stopping over at Dr. Brennan's apartment for their unconventional meeting on his way home from work.

Brennan jumped at the sudden and brisk knock that sounded against her apartment door. She stumbled off her couch, after she had once again spent the better part of her day just sitting in the same stiff position while staring off into space. When she opened her front door she was immediately given the pleasure – had this been a more lighthearted situation – of seeing a thoroughly confused and shocked Dr. Lance Sweets. His eyes were large and round and they only seemed to get larger as she welcomed him into her apartment.

"Well, Dr. Brennan I am not going to beat around the bush when I say that when I got your call I was very…um, surprised. So, now that I am here for our house call, what is it that you wanted to discuss," said Sweets. This was not a situation that he'd ever thought he'd find himself in, having Dr. Brennan actually approach him first about something that he was guessing was a very serious personal issue, instead of having to chase her – or sometimes Agent Booth – down and practically having to pull answers and emotions out of her as if he were pulling teeth. Which, he understood. Many people had different ways of getting through their own trauma and demons. Sweets knew that Agent Booth preferred to confide in just his partner, while Dr. Brennan – he knew confided in Agent Booth – usually kept everything she felt locked away and buried. Sweets understood why they both did that, why they fought him so much on a lot of his offer of psychological help, no matter how frustrating the two of them could be, and perhaps that's why the relationship between the three of them still worked so well for so long. After all, they had all been through similar traumatic childhoods: Booth had been beaten and abused by his alcoholic father, Brennan was abandoned by her entire family and passed around in the faster system, and he…well, Sweets knew what it was like – before he'd been adopted by a lovely older couple – to be abused _and_ abandoned do to his own time in the _system_. So, yes Sweets had a very deep and profound level of understanding that he shared with this particular dynamic duo, but that didn't make his present situation any less…strange.

"I did something. I said something to Booth, and I'm worried that he's going to think I won't be able to handle the…emotional consequences of what I said to him, that he might consider breaking off our partnership, and I was hoping you'd use your highly unreliable skills of psychology to reassure him that I am emotionally fine and that…and that our relationship will remain the way he wishes it to remain." Brennan's voice was sure, strong, and confident…and Sweets wasn't buying a single word of it, whatever it was exactly that she was trying to say…without really saying it.

She invited him to sit down in the armchair across from couch as she sat down on the center cushion of said couch. Sweet's pen was poised over the medium sized leather bound black notebook he'd brought with him to take notes, his demeanor confused.

"Um, Dr. Brennan, for me to write and actual evaluation of your emotional state I will need to know exactly what it was that you said to Agent Booth and I'm going to need to know the motivation behind the words. I mean I know that you don't always mean to be cold and detached but sometimes what you say can be hurtful; however I can't imagine Agent Booth being overly upset with whatever it was that you said, given the fact that he does know you so well. I don't think he would take whatever it was that you said to him too much to heart, if that is what you are worried about." Sweets couldn't help but notice the small flinch that was barely perceptible among Brennan's otherwise cool exterior when he suggested that Booth wouldn't take whatever it was she had said to heart.

Before Brennan gave her explanation however, she gave a tiny glare, the frustration over him clear in her bright eyes. "I told him…" Brennan paused as she choked down the heart ache and bile. "I told him I was in love with him."

The pen Sweets had been holding, poised perfectly over his notebook, fell to the floor with a soft clatter. His jaw dropped, and his eyes widened as he took in what Dr. Brennan had just admitted – something he'd been longing to hear her and Agent Booth admit to each other for ages – and now…The shock Sweets felt began to give way to understanding; understanding of the gravity of the situation. Dr. Brennan had admitted her feelings to Agent Booth, and Agent Booth – from what Sweets recalled of their last conversation about personal matter days ago – was already planning on proposing to Hannah. Sweets wondered if Dr. Brennan's confession was – obviously the reason Agent Booth had been so off kilter all day – making Booth question his not so healthy relationship with Hannah, if it was causing him to rethink the proposal he had planned? However, all of Sweets questions melted away as he finally took a good long look at Dr. Brennan. She held her posture more rigidly than she usually did, her eyes were cold and calculating more so than usual, and her mouth was drawn into a hard line while her eyes twitched every now and then…as if she were fighting off the tears and the sobs of heart break. Yes, Sweets could tell that Dr. Brennan was feeling heartbreak, because she and Agent Booth's behavior for the last day told him loud and clear that Booth had not said the words back to Dr. Brennan. He had not returned her love. And from what Sweets could tell, Dr. Brennan was not ok. She was hanging on by a thread, closing herself off, shutting down her emotions, and rebuilding the walls that Agent Booth had spent five long years trying to break dawn and get her to open up to him.

Sweets closed his hanging jaw, not bothering to pick up his discarded pen from the floor, and pulled out another pen from his inner suit pocket and immediately began writing while Dr. Brennan watched with her cold calculating stare. No, she was not ok, but Sweets would say she was. He knew what it was like to be abandoned, to be hurting in the most profound way, and would not be the one to take away the one gleaming light that Dr. Brennan had left in her life; he would not be the one to recommend that Dr. Brennan and Agent Booth no longer be partners in crime. So, as he finished his letter – whether it would be needed or not, since Agent Booth clearly had not asked for a new partner…yet – he concluded it with:

_It is my professional psychological opinion that in spite of Dr. Brennan's personal and emotional attachment to Agent Booth, the two will have no problem remaining professional partners and should do so for the overall working benefit of both the FBI and the Jeffersonian._

As Sweets finished the letter, he couldn't help but ask, "You…you really told him you were in love with him?"

"Yes," replied Brennan as she turned her head away from Sweets penetrating gaze, but she still could not hide the lone tear that fell and ran along her jawline out of the corner of her eye. Tears were never something that Sweets had witnessed in regards to Dr. Brennan, and he felt for her even more in that moment as he witnessed her pain.

"I see."

_**Next Chapter: Bones overhears Sweets and Cam talking about Booth taking the next step with Hannah.**_


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Sorry for the absurd delay you guys. I was in the process of moving and with that came some family obligations and looking for a new job, etc. Anyway, I hope this chapter makes up for it. As always, I do not own Bones, Fox, or any of the characters associated with them. Please, read and review; your criticism (positive or negative) is always appreciated as it helps me become a better writer.**

**Chapter Two) Round Two**

Cam was shocked at what Sweets was telling her. The very concept that Booth would be proposing to Hannah any day now was just…awkward, not to mention a bit unprofessional in her opinion. The whole conversation between her and Sweets had started when she – after Angela had made a note of pointing the problem out to her – called Booth up in the hopes of finding out just why Dr. Brennan was so…off. Cam could swear that Dr. Brennan – despite the professional respect she had for the woman and her habit of calling her by her last name was still someone she considered to be a very close and dear friend – was acting like she had when Cam had first started to work for the Jeffersonian and as Dr. Brennan's boss. The walls were up, the emotions were firmly blocked off, and Dr. Brennan's heart was locked away so no one could find it.

When Cam had first met Dr. Brennan there was undoubtedly some profession posturing, both women trying to assert their own form of Alpha vs. Beta personalities over their shared territory of the Jeffersonian and their metaphorical pack, or in this case their friends and colleagues. However, over time Cam had come to respect Dr. Brennan's professionalism, her clear gift for doing her job at such an amazing pace and with almost constant victorious results, but she had also come to see the other woman's vulnerabilities. There was innocence to Dr. Brennan; her need to understand everyone and everything much like the inquiries of a small child constantly asking questions and wanting to know more. And because of that Cam had formed a strong, although strange, friendship with the younger woman…but she had also formed her own feelings of motherly affection and protectiveness over Dr. Brennan as well as many of her employees.

As such, it was these feelings that had awoken Cam's rage and shock that Booth would treat Dr. Brennan's emotional well-being with such callousness as to even consider asking Hannah to marry him. After her impromptu call to Booth was a total fail – suffice it to say she knows he was lying when she asked him if he knew what was wrong with Dr. Brennan, after all she knows him – she decided to call Sweets in the hopes that he would give her some friendly and professional insight as to what exactly was wrong with her friend.

Sweets response was subtle but clear, "Well, Dr. Brennan did tell me some personal information under strict doctor/patient confidence and as such I cannot give you the specific details as to why she is behaving a certain way right now. But, as a friend I can hint that she confronted Booth about something personal pertaining to their…working and personal relationship…and Agent Booth…"

"Oh, my God!" Cam choked out, "She told him, didn't she?"

"I'm a little surprised that you were able to figure that out…" Before Sweets could finish, Cam interrupted him once more.

"I think it's safe to say that everyone here at the Jeffersonian and at the FBI can see how Booth and Dr. Brennan feel about each other, Sweets."

"Fair enough," was Sweets only reply with a reminiscent smile.

"I'm guessing her confession didn't go so well." It was not a question that Cam was stating, and Sweets downturned look and lack of verbal response was telling enough. "God, what is with those two!? First Booth messes up by telling her to gamble on their relationship, and now Dr. Brennan actually wants to give them a chance but Booth has his head so far up Hannah's…"

"Wait, Agent Booth confessed his feelings before Dr. Brennan?" asked Sweets, his voice confused with a hint of shock in its tone.

"Well, if that's what you can call it. He told her that they were worth taking a chance on and Dr. Brennan…well, you know how literal she is, especially about things that are this personal. It wasn't a guarantee so she…"

"Said no."

"Yeah," was Cam's slumped reply.

"Oh…Oh God! When did this happen?" asked Sweets as he finally realized something.

"Um, sometime last year, a couple of months before we all went our separate ways so to speak," said Cam, "Why?"

"This is all my fault!" breathed Sweets as he slumped into a chair across from Cam's desk in her office.

"What are you talking?" asked Cam, worry creeping into her voice.

"It was after I finally finished my book on them, they had finished reading it and we all had decided to get together in my office and talk about what they thought of it. I wanted to make sure that I'd gotten all my facts right. We started talking about their first case together and…by the end of our discussion I pushed them to just come out and admit their feelings for each other." Sweets was becoming frantic now. "I could tell that they were both closing themselves off, so I told them that one of them had to break the stalemate that they were in. I pointed out that Booth was the gambler so he had to be the one to take the first leap of faith." Sweets dropped his head into his hands, rubbing his face with a sort of viciousness. "This is all my fault. I should have been more clear!"

"Ok, Sweets, listen…" Cam took a deep breath as she took in everything Sweets had just dumped on her. "I may not understand half of what you just said, mostly because I was not there to witness what was said by you, Booth, or Dr. Brennan. But, I do know that this is NOT your fault."

Sweets looked up from his hands with a doubtful expression written on his face.

"Look, Booth is good with people, but more importantly he is good with emotions. I mean, he has spent the better part of the last five years trying to get Dr. Brennan to open herself up more emotionally. You said it yourself, that you told them they needed to tell each other how they felt. Of course, logically it would need to be Booth to make the first move. Booth is the one who screwed this up, Sweets, not you."

"How do you figure?" said Sweets with an air of self-deprecation.

"Booth may be the gambler, but he didn't do what you suggested that night. He obviously did not tell Dr. Brennan what he really felt. He asked her to take a chance, a gamble on them…"Cam held her hand up when she noticed Sweets about to interrupt her. "You said he was the gambler and he need to step up and tell her how he felt. He didn't. He didn't take the chance to tell her he loved her, Sweets. Dr. Brennan needs hard facts, evidence, you know this, I know it, and Booth most definitely knows it. Dr. Brennan is an extremely literal person. She needed to hear the words," said Cam. "She might have known deep down that he loved her, but that night…in that moment, she needed to hear 'I love you' from Booth. You didn't screw it up Sweets."

Sweets sighed, closing his eyes. What Cam was saying made sense, but he still felt a tad responsible for perhaps pushing Dr. Brennan and Agent Booth together when they clearly had not been ready. And he voiced his thoughts, "I still pushed them. They weren't ready…"

"When are we ever ready to face emotions that are as strong as theirs, Sweets? It was bound to happen sooner or later," said Cam.

"How did you know, that Agent Booth had…"

"Angela told me. Dr. Brennan had been very emotional that night and she had told Angela so…" Sweets nodded at Cam's answer. "She also hinted that…that Dr. Brennan had planned on telling Booth sooner, when we had all come back to the Jeffersonian a few months ago. But, before she could Booth told her about Hannah."

Sweets nodded in understanding, but the reality was that he really didn't understand. He had told Booth to tell Dr. Brennan his true feelings, but low and behold the one that actually does it is Dr. Brennan, only now it was too late because Booth was with Hannah. On top of it all Booth was planning to propose to Hannah…soon. "He's going to propose…to Hannah."

"What? When?" Cam's screech did not shock Sweets but it had shocked Dr. Brennan, who had been on her way to give Cam some new information on their latest case when she had overheard that particular bit of information before she had scurried off, not wanting to hear any more about Booth or his relationship with Hannah. Thus, Cam's reaction was perfectly understandable, though she and Sweets were still unaware that they had been privy to Dr. Brennan's eaves dropping on part of their conversation.

"I'm not entirely sure. He only just told me last night during drinks that he had been planning it for a while, he even has the ring already, and he's just looking for the right time to pop the question." Sweets obvious lack of enthusiasm was telling in his opinion of Booth choice of wife.

"What do you think of her? Hannah, I mean," asked Cam as she tried to control her shock.

"She seems like an overall pleasant girl, but…"

"But…" Cam's voice was hopeful.

"They're complete strangers. From what I've seen, it's all just physical for them, especially when you take into account Hannah much younger age. I think she is not only the rebound girl but she's also someone to boost Agent Booth's bruised ego, because in his mind Dr. Brennan rejected him when in reality she was just trying to do right by him as well as being true to herself." Sweets' reply was candid and to the point.

"God, I could just smack Seeley right now!" growled Cam.

"You sound angry at Agent Booth," said Sweets.

"If you have romantic feelings towards Dr. Brennan then you better be damn sure. Because if you're not or you change your mind about her, then Dr. Brennan will die of loneliness before she ever trusts anyone ever again," said Cam. "That's what I told Booth when he told me about his feelings for Dr. Brennan."

"He told you?"

"Me, Angela, his grandfather, you name it. He's not very subtle about it," said Cam with a frustrated eye role.

"Oh," was Sweets soft reply.

"What?"

"It's just, something I never realized before," said Sweets. Cam gave him pointed look for him to continue. "It's just, based on what you're saying Booth has been willing to tell pretty much everyone else he is closest to about his feelings for Dr. Brennan, except…"

"For Dr. Brennan herself," said Cam, her frustration for one Seeley Booth growing.

"Exactly! But, for as long as I've known them, Dr. Brennan tells everyone else that she is closest to that she and Booth are just friends. She outright denies what she feels for him to others, but she tells him what she's really feeling," finished Sweets as if what he had just realized was like some terrible truth the cosmos was only now revealing to him.

"Ok, so what are you saying?" asked Cam.

"I used to think that, despite their mutual tragic pasts, Booth was the more healed, the more human of the two and Dr. Brennan was the more emotionally jaded one. But now…don't you see?" asked Sweets. He was on a role for realizations today. "Booth trusts all of you in regards to his feelings for Dr. Brenna, but not Dr. Brennan herself. He still refuses to admit that he loves her to her face, maybe even to himself. But Dr. Brennan…she was the one that said 'I love you.' Out of everyone else she is closest to, Agent Booth is the one she shares her truths to, her real and whole self." Sweets shook his head in utter bafflement. "I was wrong. Booth is the one who refuses to move forward, even with Hannah. His relationship with her is just a…distraction from what he really wants."

Sweets recalled about a week ago when Dr. Brennan had asked him to come over to her apartment and write an evaluation for her and how earlier that same week he had pointed out that she was not the same as Dr. Eems, that if something were to happen to her she would be missed. Later she had described her confusion to some sort of philosophy that the world had turned upside down on her because that was the only way that it could get her to see what it wanted her to see…what it finally wanted her to admit. Sweets was feeling the same way. All of these realizations made him feel like his own universe had been turned upside down and what he was seeing was making him question everything. By the look of shock on Cam's face across from him, he had a feeling that she was having much of the same experience.

**A/N: What Booth says to Sweets is harsh, but I think we can all admit that there are many points in the series where Booth treats Sweets more as an annoyance that he has to put up with rather than as his friend, especially in the earlier seasons. And also, it was said in anger, which logically has been known to happen in any friendship. I basically wanted to show this scene as Sweets seeing through Booth's tough exterior. Sweets often brings up tough questions that Booth and Bones often have to acknowledge throughout the show. I also wanted to really see Sweets stand up to Booth in spite of his usual threats against Sweets simply because he points certain things out that Booth often doesn't want to face. Tough love, baby.**

**I wanted very much to also point out the fact that in the "Doctor in the Photo" episode when everyone is asking Bones if she's ok, Sweets is the only one that get down to point and tells her that she is different from the Doctor in the photo, he is also the only what that seems to realize her confusion over the case and the reason behind it. Booth is just all, "Hey, everything ok there, Bones?" and "What's up with you?" in a very blasé manner.**

**This has lead me to wonder whether I should turn this into a Sweets/Bones story. What do you think? Sweets pushes Bones the same way Booth does, in the sense that he uses psychology which Bones is not very comfortable with (like how Booth uses emotions and religion to push Bones out of her comfort zone). He also has a complete grasp on what she must have gone through in the foster system because he too was in it and faced abuse and loss. They have both lost their parents. And finally, Sweets seems to notice things about Bones that even Booth doesn't. I find that to be very telling. Not to mention Sweets infatuation with Daisy (a young peppy woman who is hell bent on being just like Dr. Brennan). Let me know what you guys think of this? I bring these things up because I have been re-watching the "Bones" show from start to finish and there are some things that I am notice about Booth and how he treats Bones. I greatly dislike how he uses terms like 'freak' to describe people like Bones and also when he says things like "why can't you just be normal". I don't know. I have been reevaluating where I might be going with this story.**

**P.S. I hope you guys didn't think I was too harsh on Booth. I was NOT trying to bash his character, simply trying to assert the facts of the situation the way I have interpreted it. As Always, please review and let me know what you think.**

_**Next Chapter: Bones deals with her own feelings after over hearing Cam and Sweets talking about Booth proposing to Hannah. A new case makes Bones think about the possibility of children once more.**_


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I want to assure all my readers that this story has NOT been abandoned nor will it ever be abandoned. After moving across the country, dealing with family drama &amp; just a total lack of free time from real life, I've finally gotten around to dealing with this story. At first, I couldn't remember where I was going with it (it's been that long, I know) &amp; when I did remember I thought my idea was a bit blasé &amp; cliché in terms of most Bones fanfictions. After much deliberation I've altered the story while also keeping some of my main ideas &amp; hopefully it will be entertaining for you all. I hope it's not too crazy out of the realm of possibilities. I think many of you will appreciate the irony when you recall a certain character David Boreanaz (Booth) used to play.**

**This newest case that Booth &amp; Bones deal with is not one from the show but one of my own making. Also, as you can see I'm sort of following my own timeline in regards to S.6, but that's what's great about fanfiction. If you want a solid timeline, the story begins at "The Doctor in the Photo," but it will basically go AU from there in terms of events/timeline. I hope that's ok. Note: I will NOT be making this a Bones/Sweets story, but Sweets will still play a major role in the story, as will all of the characters. Booth will really have to work at getting Bones' trust back; he'll also deal with a few realizations about himself. I hope that will satisfy everyone &amp; hope the length of this chapter makes up for the horrible delays in this story. Note: I'm planning about 10 chapters total.**

**Enjoy…**

_**Chapter 3) Poor Lucy**_

From what Brennen knew, Booth had yet to propose to Hannah, but Brennen preferred to not think of that at all. It had been two weeks since she'd overheard Cam and Sweets' mention of Booth's long-term intentions towards Hannah, and three weeks since she'd spoken to Sweets about her predicament with Booth. At first, she'd thought she could lose herself in her work, but that could only help her in her excuses to avoid calls from Hannah for so long. She didn't really need to work at dodging Booth. They hadn't had any new case for a while now and since her awkward confession of her feelings, Booth seemed to be avoiding her.

It hurt. She couldn't deny the facts. Her emotions were everywhere and work was the only thing that help…at first. Now, it seemed to hinder her. Angela and Cam were desperate to know what was wrong with her, though Brennen was certain Cam knew going by the other woman's constant whispered conversations with one Dr. Sweets; and Hodgins and Sweets were a bit more subtle, but still concerned for her cold – colder – behavior.

It had gotten to the point where Brennen didn't want a distraction anymore. She wanted peace. Peace from her chaotic emotions and reeling mind. It was thoughts like that, that lead to a more hidden desire, a little whisper that had been speaking in the back of her mind ever since the day she'd asked Booth to be her sperm donor.

A child.

The yearning need to have one hadn't waned in the last year or so, no matter what Booth might think and no matter what she might've told Angela. It was still there. The need to hold her son or daughter in her arms. Brennen had never before considered herself the maternal sort but, she wanted it, she wanted that life – that family – she thought had been lost to her since the day she'd been put into the foster system.

She'd been carefully and studiously been looking through her options. Brennen didn't think it was appropriate to ask Booth to use his sperm, which she still had access to – the frozen stuff that is – since he'd signed it over to her when he'd gone into surgery when he'd had that tumor. If anything, she should probably call the fertility center it was being kept in up and tell them to destroy his sample seeing as there was a next to zero percent chance that she'd ever use it. But, she couldn't. Even though she knew she'd never use it without Booth's permission – which she knew she'd never get since he was planning on marrying Hannah – but it was still the one physical part of him she still had. It was symbolic, or that's what Angie would tell her if she knew. So, Brennen consider her other option: adoption. It was her more favored option compared to finding a surrogate mother or another sperm donor to use. With surrogate mothers, there was always the chance that they'd want to back out and keep the child for themselves, and she couldn't imagine very wanting to give birth to a child that wasn't Booth's so the other sperm donor idea was off the table.

That left her with adoption.

Brennen quite liked the idea of adding and taking in a child that she'd essentially be saving from a jaded and bitter life within the foster system. This too, was symbolic, she figured, given her own past in the system. Why bring an innocent child into a horrid world when there were so many other desperate children needing to be saved and loved. She hadn't gone as far as meeting or picking a child but she had been speaking with her attorney and looking at potential adoption agency in order to finding her soon-to-be child, a newborn, preferably, so she'd get the full mothering experience. She was even conserving taking some natural, albeit expensive, hormones to induce her own breasts to lactate given that they were the healthiest source of nutrition for a newborn child.

At present, Brennen was going through the papers her attorney had sent over so she could look at her Will should she later want to include her potential child in it, as well as papers for starting an inheritance account, college fund, and other expenses any child of hers would need. She was just about to turn the page of one of the documents when her cell phone rang for the fifth time that day. Brennen reached over the armrest of the couch she was sitting in, in her office, to check the Caller ID.

And just like all the other times…

…it was Hannah.

It needed to be done. She couldn't avoid Hannah forever. They were friends, after all. With a deep breath to steady her suddenly unsteady voice, Brennen answered her cell phone.

"Hello?"

"Temperance? It's Hannah, I was wondering if you'd like to grab some lunch. I thought we should…talk…about thing," said Hannah. Given her nervous sounding voice, Brennen would guess that Booth had told her about her confession of love. Then again, she could be wrong. She knew she couldn't keep avoiding Hannah. It was intolerably rude and cowardly.

"Of course, I would love to," was Brennen's reply.

"Great! I'll pick you up in about half hour. We can go to the Founding Father for a burger. OR would you prefer the Diner?" asked Hannah. She sounded relieved by Brennen's answer and desire to see her. It was a god start. If Booth had told her about that night, it at least sounded like Hannah wasn't angry or upset with her.

Brennen considered Hannah's question. It wasn't hard. The Diner was special. It was her and Booth's place. The Founding Fathers was more neutral; the entire Lab went there. "The Founding Fathers soundly lovely. I'll meet you outside the main entrance of the Jeffersonian." She was glad the phone call ended quickly, but she was doubtful her lunch with Hannah would go by just as painlessly. It was easier then she'd thought, talking to Hannah over the phone, but it was gonna be harder seeing her in person. Knowing Booth wanted to marry this woman, kissed her, held her in his arms every night, caresses her body. Brennen never used to waste time on jealousy, but she couldn't help but feel it stab her heart – metaphorically, of course, love wasn't a sharp instrument of torture, at least it shouldn't be. It wasn't the petty kind of jealous, she didn't think. It was the kind that one felt knowing that, that one person – the only person – you could see you spending your life with, wasn't yours. Never would be yours. It was the kind of jealousy brought on by the inevitable and eternal loneliness of a broken heart.

The car ride in Booth's SUV, which Hannah had no doubt borrowed from him, to the Founding Fathers, was slow, awkward, and silent. Brennen was worried that the entire lunch would be spent in silence when Hannah hadn't even spoke two words to her other than, "How are you doing?" when she'd first picked her up, even after they'd placed their lunch orders.

It was Hannah who broke the stalemate.

"So…Booth told me," she said her voice calm, smooth, and said on an exhale.

"I figured he would," said Brennen but she still felt her face wince at the thought. Booth was always good about keeping her secrets, and there was a small part of her that'd hoped he'd keep this one, too.

"Yet, you still seem a little surprised," said Hannah, a slight gentle tilt of her lips, as if she were trying to coax Brennen into being more comfortable than she felt.

"No, I just…" Brennen was a tad speechless. She wasn't entirely certain what to expect from her lunch with Hannah.

"Booth's honest to those he's close to, and we're together…"

"I know."

"Listen, I don't want this to be awkward. I can understand this, Temperance. Booth is sweet, kind, handsome…It's no surprise that you or any other woman would fall for him," said Hannah. Her voice was…pleasant.

"I just didn't…don't want to hurt you," said Brennen. It was true. Hannah had been nothing but nice to her. And although Hannah was everything Booth had not wanted in a woman – flighty, too sexual, didn't want kids, and wasn't very keen about marriage – Brennen had come to accept her place in Booth's life.

It still hurt.

"You didn't hurt me. This isn't the first time a friends has ever fallen for her friend's guy. It won't be the last. But, I'm determined to not be the jealous cliché. I think we can still be friends…still be us…if you want," Hannah was being so nice that Brennen couldn't help but feel alert and wary. It was irrational on a logical level, but emotionally, she'd gotten used to being taken advantage of when she was down as a child. It was one of those things she'd picked up in the foster care system.

"I'd like that," said Brennen, but really, she wasn't entirely sure. Her emotions since that night were all over the place and hadn't been very reliable as of late.

"So, how have you been? It's been a while," said Hannah.

Brennen wanted to be honest and said, "It's hard. But, I think after some time, I'll move on. I guess I just need some time to wallow first."

"I can understand that. Rejection is hard no matter who it comes from. But, even though it involves Booth, I want you to know that if you need to talk about it, you can talk with me," said Hannah. She sounded sincere.

"Thank you. I've been distracting myself with work and a few…other things…"

"Oh," said Hannah just as their food was being delivered to their table and set down in front of them. She immediately dived into her Caesar salad while Brennen began to pick at the French Fries she'd gotten with her Veggie Burger. "What kinds of things?"

"Well, I've been looking into adoption. Been considering it pretty seriously," said Brennen. She didn't miss the way Hannah's eyes widened in surprise.

"Oh…um…Temperance, this adoption thing isn't because you want to distract yourself from Booth, is it? It's not like you're just…" Hannah looked down, biting her lip; a nervous twitch that Brennen had always known about.

"Just what?" She wanted Hannah's opinion. Hannah may not want kids herself, but she was efficient and good around Parker from what Booth had told her.

"Well, just be certain you're not doing this because of, you know, Booth. You never make drastic decisions after something too emotional happens."

"Oh, no. I've been thinking about a kid for a little over a year now," assured Brennen, but she still saw the slight look of doubt cross Hannah's features.

"You, well, you think I'll be a good mother, right?"

"Of course! You're always devoted towards everything and everyone you care about. I just, you're like me, never really thought you'd be the kind to want kids. You know?" Said Hannah, but Brennen could sense the same trepidation that Booth had initially shown when she'd first suggested it to him over a year ago.

"I would love my child," stated Brennen. Her voice was calm but firm. The fact that so many people showed doubt in her in this was beginning to make her doubt herself. First Booth and Sweets, then Cam and Hodgins. Angela had never been doubtful so much as she was shocked at how she had planned to go about the process.

"I know that, Temperance, but a child needs more than love and devotion sometimes. They need…normalcy. And you don't exactly do…"

"Normal." Brennen finished Hannah's thought.

It hurt.

Hannah was right.

Brennen wasn't normal.

"I just don't want you to rush into any rash decision so soon after…well, after." Said Hannah.

Maybe I am being too rash, thought Brennen.

And just like that, their lunch tapered off into that awkward silence once more.

Once back at work, Brennen avoided her office as much as possible, preferring to work in Limbo for a few hours, maybe well into the night. After her lunch with Hannah, Brennen couldn't bear to look at the files and pamphlets on adoption agencies that littered her usually kempt office.

It wasn't until about three in the morning when total exhaustion forced her back into her office where she spent the rest of the night sleeping on her couch. Angela found her when she came into work with Hodgins, passed out on said couch with nothing but a small pillow under her head and her lab coat as her blanket. Due to the recent nesting period Angela was in thanks to the pregnancy, and knowing Brennen hated it when her office r apartment were dirty or cluttered, Angela set about gathering the various papers in disarray of her friend's coffee table, and organizing them.

Halfway through the process, Angela finally noticed what kinds of papers she was sorting and froze.

"Bones."

"Bones!"

"BONES!"

Brennen woke with a start to someone calling her name.

It was Booth.

He wasn't even at her office door yet, but seemed content to just shout her name all the way through the Lab despite the fact that she could see him walking towards her office through one of the open glass walls. He paused in the arch of her door. He didn't seem comfortable just walking on into her office like he used to.

There was a nervous, harassed look on his face.

Brennen flinched, but tried her best to hide it. Given the way Booth immediately not-so-subtle turned his head she knew he'd seen the twitch. Whether he'd rather just ignore her pain or was simply respecting her privacy in regards to her emotions was a mystery.

"Hey, Booth," said Brennen, her voice scratchy from sleep. "Did you need something?"

"We've got a case, an interesting one, too. Did you sleep in here?" Booth's question was to be expected. He worried about her still; there was comfort in knowing that.

"Uh, yeah, I worked late last night in Limbo. Did feel the necessity in going home. Uh, where is everyone?" ask Brennen as she checked the time on her Cell Phone which was sitting idly by a stack of her now organized paper. Huh, she didn't remember doing that last night. It was about ten in the morning, which meant the Lab should've been busy. She should've at least seen some people around outside her office, but all she saw was Daisy sorting through was looked to be evidence paper by Hodgins office, and an idle janitor making his morning rounds.

"Cam got the call for a crime scene as well. She and your Squinterns went to get things ready for the road. I think she picked the British one and Finn, something about them needing field experience," said Booth. He was bouncing on the balls of his feet. A nervous tells of his.

Brennen hated that he seemed to me more uncomfortable in her company than he usually was. Though, as her mind finally began to catch up to the thought work again, she understood Cam's decision to choose Mr. Vincent Nigel-Murray and Finn Abernathy as her field interns this time. They were the only ones not to go out into the field to view a crime scene yet and Cam was correct in thinking they needed more experience. However, it did give Brennen pause. Usually her interns didn't go out into the field with her unless the crime scene was particularly messy, gruesome, and harder to handle than usual for one person of her field, or because they were going out of town for the crime scene. It was a rarity, in their work, to need to take a case away from the D.C. area. There was certainly enough crime here. Brennen could only infer that this case would be both interesting and more difficult to solve.

"How far out of town are we going?" asked Brennen. Booth couldn't help his slight smile at her ability to deduce the quality and whereabouts of their new case.

"Not too far, but far enough where you're gonna want to pack for at least a weakened away. We're going to Hale, Maryland. We've got a three hour drive ahead of us, but I'd figured I'd take you back to your apartment to pack first," replied Booth as he waited for Brennen to put herself to rights, grab her purse, and proceed to follow her outside the Jeffersonian.

Brennen faltered briefly in her steps when she was confronted with the possibility of being in a car with Booth – just Booth – for the next three hours. Ever since that night, she'd either avoided him, he avoided her, or they avoided each other. She dreaded their approaching road trip.

"You said we'd be staying in Hale for the weekend?"

"At least, maybe a week at most," said Booth.

"What do you know about the case so far?" asked Brennen as they made their way to her apartment across town.

"Not much. Only that it looks like a weird case. Lot of little things don't add up."

"Like?" pushed Brennen.

"Well, what we do know is that it's a young college girl. She had her school ID with her. Lucy something. She was found in one of those old mausoleums in the Town cemetery. Now, I know we would've had to look at the crime scene anyway, but there's no real reason as to why we would have to stay there for more than a day," said Booth, sounding frustrated.

"Then why will we be staying there?"

"Well, the local Sheriff wants everything to stay in town. Usually we'd just send some FBI higher ups to convince him otherwise, after all it is technically our jurisdiction…"

"According to you, everything is the FBI's jurisdiction."

Booth ignored her playful remark.

She was trying to lessen the tension in the car.

If this was what twenty minutes felt like, she dreaded what three hours would be like.

"So, why don't the FBI just push the Sheriff into cooperating?"

"Because, apparently the Town's local millionaire's father was friends with the Director years back, and he convinced Hacker to let them keep this in-house, so to speak," explained Booth. By then they'd arrived at Brennen's apartment.

It took about ten minutes of arguing, but she'd convinced him he didn't need to come in with her, that she'd be packed as fast as possible and she'd meet him back outside the front of her apartment building.

AS she was throwing things chaotically into a compact suitcase, she heard Angela's voice echo down the hall by the front door. "Honey, you need any help?"

Brennen glanced up just into to see Angie standing in her bedroom doorway, her five month pregnant abdomen having only just popped. "Uh, know. What are you doing here? I thought you'd be on your way to the crime scene with Hodgins?"

"Yeah, well I knew Booth would try to drive you there and I figured after what happened you wouldn't want to deal with that awkwardness," said Angie as she helpfully sat on Brennen's near bursting suitcase so as to help her close it enough to zip the damn thing. "Don't worry. It took some Girl Power on my part, but I got him to hit the road without you. I figured you could ride with me and Hodgins. I've brought a stack of baby magazines. You could help me look for inspiration for the nursery," said Angie. She didn't think it would be a good idea to tell Brennen she'd seen the papers, but she thought she'd open the door to potential baby talk. Especially since she noticed a pile of said papers that had been ripped to shreds and thrown into the trash can in Brennen's kitchen. She figured something must have happened to make Brennen do that.

It was the first thing Brennen had done when she'd entered her apartment; yanking those papers out of her bag – which she'd managed to grab without Booth noticing on their way out of her office – and tossing them away. Since her talk with Hannah, Brennen had figured that having that family, her own family, was nothing more than a childish dream on her part.

As they made their way down the stairs, outside to one of Hodgins many cars, and in which Brennen refused any help offered by Angie – stating it wasn't good for her or the baby to be lifting heavy objects like her suitcase – Angie revealed, "By the way, since the crimes scene's apparently weird, or something, Sweets is coming to do a profiling. Hope you don't mind but, Hodgins was the one to offer him to ride with us."

Oddly enough, with Sweets knowing about that night and having supported her since then, Brennen wasn't at all bothered by his company on their little road trip.

Everything about the town was quaint and idyllic. It was on the coast of the Potomac, with little side-shingle and old brick buildings everywhere. It was just over 400 years old, and Brennen observed that at least half the buildings and local houses were just as hold.

Their party was the last to arrive at the crime scene – after having their luggage and non-crime scene equipment taken to their respective rooms – though, Brennen saw fit to compliment both Mr. Nigel Murray and Mr. Abernathy for preparing the scene so well for their arrival.

It was a surprisingly peaceful walk through the cemetery for Brennen, Hodgins, and Sweets. Angie didn't need nor want to come see the corpse and opted to go through town listening to gossip about the murder victim – once they'd txt her the name as Brennen promised to do as soon as she found out – until they had something for her to work on. She was the only one in the group that could've done her work from the Jeffersonian, but opted to come along for to spend time with Hodgins and especially to keep things friendly and supportive between Booth and Brennen.

The breathtaking fall foliage and mist of the autumn air permeated their surroundings as the made their way to one of the five mausoleums within Hale Town's cemetery. Harker, Sibley, Hale, Murrey, and Holmwood were the names that were etched over their dreary, yet beautiful gothic doors. The victim had been found in the Harker family mausoleum.

Nigel-Murray and Abernathy were the first to greet Brennen upon their arrival. She stopped to speak with them about their findings. Both had been excellent students thus far.

"Hello, Dr. Brennen," echoed Finn and Vincent.

"Hello Mr. Abernathy, Mr. Nigel-Murray. What do you have for me?" asked Brennen as she pulled her gloves on.

"Well, the victim's name was Lucy Westra. She was a student at the local Hale Seminar College, approximately 19 years old. Other than that there was nothing personal on the victim other than her school ID," answered Vincent.

"Everything else are crime scene details. We took turns asking each other questions you might ask us and wrote our responses down," said Finn as he and Vincent produced two small notebooks for her.

"Very well done. I'm glad to see you both take initiative and being so thorough. I doubt I'll need you here at the crime scene, so I want you both to go to the Local Morgue. We'll be using it as our lab while we solve this case," said Brennen as she began to walk closer towards the crime scene.

"Yes, of course, Dr. Brennen," was Vincent's very British reply.

"Oh," said Brennen as she quickly whipped around to add, "Could one of you txt that information to Angela? She's going around town acting like a tourist so she can work the locals for some gossip on the victim. See if they might tell her things they wouldn't tell the rest of us."

"Sure thing, Dr. Brennen," said Finn.

Brennen squeezed her way past Booth who'd been blocking the mausoleum's tilted double doors. It was musty, as to be expected, but rather clean. There was a grate that was placed over a set of stair that lead underground to the original mausoleum. The main upper room in which they all stood in had five stone crypts. One of them was slightly open, it's lid hanging half off and half on, to reveal a half decomposed corpse. As she turned to look at the latest victim –alongside Cam and Sweets while Hodgins puttered around the crypts gathering various dirt, grime, and bugs – she asked, "What do we have so far?"

"A whole lot of creepy," said Booth. "The Groundskeeper found her yesterday afternoon while on his rounds. Said the crypt was already open like that."

"I would like to speak with him," replied Brennen, concentration evident in her voice.

"I knew you would. He should be here any sec…" Booth paused mid-sentence as the cemetery Groundskeeper and local Sheriff entered the surprisingly spacious upper entry room of the mausoleum.

Brennen looked over to see the Groundskeeper, obvious in his dirt streaked shirt and equally dirty overalls and work boots. "I imagine you go through the cemetery more than once a month, since that's how long our victim's been dead. Why didn't you notice her earlier?"

"I do tend the tombstones outside weakly, but the mausoleums…only three people have the keys. I usually stop in every couple months, maybe once a month to sweep out the leaves that blow in through the small open windows that are used to air these places out," he replied as he pointed to said windows that were placed high on the four walls of the building. Nothing larger than a small bird could fit through their narrow span. "The doors were also locked, otherwise I would've noticed if they'd been open when I did my usual rounds outside. If they had been opened I would of probably found her sooner."

"I'd say her death was approximately one month ago, give or take a day or two," said Brennen as she moved back to stand over the victim.

"Only a month? But she's half…gone," stated Booth in slight horror.

"I believe we have our rat friends that Hodgins gathered up to thank for that. Not to mention all the bugs from the this dirt she's lying in," said Cam.

"I've never heard of dirt being put in coffins with a corpse. Is that normal?" asked Sweets as he continued to walk the circumference of the crime scene, taking in as much detail as possible.

"No, it's not," answered Brennen.

"Great, more things I can add to the list of creepy," mumbled Booth.

"Got to admit, it's not nearly as bad as I thought it would be," commented Cam.

"I wouldn't say that," said Brennen.

"Why not? You got a theory, Bones?"

"I'm not sure. It's just…this crime scene looks so…"

"Elegant," said Sweets. He now stood next to book with him back straight, shoulders slumped forward, and his hands fisted in his black trouser pockets. "Am I right?"

"Yeah, it kinda reminds me of one of those old, black-and-white horror films," said Brennen as she took a studying look around everything that wasn't the victim.

"It's clean, too. No visible blood, the crypt half open just enough to put the victim on display," said Sweets as he began his profiling.

"Almost like someone wanted us to find her," said Booth as he took is what Sweets was saying.

"Exactly. Even the way the victim herself is displayed is perfect, too perfect. She put in the traditional pose of someone being buried, her hand crossed gracefully over her abdomen. I'm also guess the flower that's lying next to her was at one point placed over her chest. My guess is she was not at all perfect in real life. Maybe a trouble maker, and the killer, whoever they may be, placed her so perfectly as a way to insult her. Pointing out all the ways she wasn't really perfect in real life."

"Makes sense," said Brennen. She did miss the shocked looks on Cam, Booth and Hodgins faces. Usually she religiously denied anything and everything Sweets sad or suggested. "From what I can see left of her clothing it looks to be a short black leather dress. Hardly appropriate for someone be buried in if their thought of in refinery."

"Guys, I've got something," said Cam.

Hodgins was the first at her side to check out what she'd found. When he saw it, he promptly said, "It just got creepier. Looks like we're dealing with a Dracula wannabe."

"Oh, no! Please don't tell me we're dealing with another cult," whined Booth.

"I doubt we're dealing with an actual vampire," stated Cam. "But, these puncture wound left on the victim's neck…or…what's left of it…certainly look the part."

"A vampire? Cool," said Sweets.

Everyone, including the Groundskeeper and local Sheriff turned to him with incredulous looks written all over their faces.

"What?"

**A/N: The town, Hale Maryland is a reference to the town in "Runaway Bride." I hope the length of this chapter makes up for my absence. Please, leave me a review. Sorry for any/all mistakes. Thanks**


End file.
